This blog is devoted to Modern Indian Postal History and Modern Philately of India providing less known information on various aspects of Indian Postal Services.

Welcome

Modern Indian Postal History is very and vibrant and provides a vivid, varied and wealthy treasure of information. Idea of creating a blog ‘Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately’ is conceived to provide, share and discuss unusual or less known information exclusively on all different postal services with its sidelines, various aspects of postage stamps, postal stationery etc. and non postal facilities provided by India Post. Collectors of Modern Indian Philately around the world are invited to share the knowledge and information on the subject.

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Postal Training Centre, Vadodara was established on 01.07.1962 to cater to the training needs of postal employees of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh postal circles. The centre started its functioning from rented accommodation provided by the Government of Gujarat in the premises of Mental Hospital, Karelibaug, Vadodara. There after the centre was relocated to its present premises, opposite to Airport, Harni Road, Vadodara, in 1985. The centre is presently catering to the training needs of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Postal Circle and to the officials from other circles also from time to time. The aims and objectives of this training centre is to impart induction, in service and refresher training to postal assistants, sorting assistants and inspector posts with a view to upgrade their knowledge and skill and to train the officials in computer application so as to equip them in software and hardware. Initially this training Centre was imparting training on operational procedures of traditional services of India Post and now in addition to traditional service, training on operational procedure of premium products and software of India Post is also conducted by using modern equipments. Today this training centre has a capacity of handling more than 1,00,000 (One Lakh) trainee days in a year.

Postal Training Centre, 1962

Postal Training Centre, Vadodara

On the occasion of Golden Jubilee of Postal Training Centre, Vadodara, a special cover was released on 01.07.2012 in a function organised at Padmini Sabhagruh of Postal Training Centre. Shri Kamleshwar Prasad, Member (HRD), Postal Services Board, New Delhi released the special cover.

Postal Training Centre has also started publication of a quarterly journal ‘Journal on Postal Operations and Management’. Inaugural issue of journal was released on the occasion.

Shri Ganesh V Sawaleshwarkar, Director of Postal Training Centre, Vadodara briefed about the history of the Postal Training Centre.

Further to my observations on Service Tax and Speed Post rates charged by India Post on two premium products viz. ‘Local Speed Post’ and ‘One India One Rate’ Speed Post articles, I was shocked to know that still many post offices in India are charging RS. 13/- and Rs. 26/- as Speed Post rates for Local Speed Post and One India One Rate Speed Post articles respectively. Yesterday I visited one post office in Vadodara to book Speed Post articles. I had affixed stamps of Rs. 25/- and Rs. 12/- on two articles, One for Ahmedabad and Vadodara (Local). I was asked to pay Rs. 1 each more for both the articles. While inquiring with concerned authority, I was told that Service Tax has been increased and that’s why rates have increased. I argued that for both the classes a clarification has been issued to charge Rs. 12/- and Rs. 25/- respectively. To my surprise, the postmaster told me that they do not have any information about this!

Here are Examples of Receipts of Speed Post Articles booked at Rs. 13/- and Rs. 26/-.

Local Speed Post Rate Charged RS. 13/-. Service Tax Charged Rs.2.15 which should be Rs. 1.32 and basic Postage Rate Should be Rs. 10.68.

Once again today I found that in one of the Head Post Offices of Vadodara (Fateganj H. O.) also they are charging Rs. 13/- for Local Speed Post articles and Rs. 26/- for ‘One India One Rate’ articles. Here are examples of receipts. Most interesting this is that here the Service Tax amount is different then above examples.

Local Speed Post Rate Charged RS. 13/-. Here Service Tax Charged Rs. 2.33 which should be Rs. 1.32 and basic Postage Rate Should be Rs. 10.68.

In continuation to Shri Ashok Kumar Bayanwala’s article Lapses in Speed Post Tariff 2012, I did some research on the Speed Post charges levied for Local and One India One Rate Speed Post articles and have found interesting information on the Service Tax charged at various post offices.

Here are some interesting examples from various post offices, before change in Service Tax rate and after changes in Service Tax rate.

Here there is difference in the Service Tax charged which make anomaly in basic rate of local Speed Post Tariff.

2. Ahmedabad RMS (18.04.2012), Speed Post rated Charged Rs. 13.00.

Service Tax Charged Rs. 2.15. Basic postage rate Rs. 10.88, If Service Tax charged at 12.36% it should be Rs. 1.34. Thus the total becomes Rs. 12.22. That means Rs. 0.78 Charged extra as rounding off. How the Service Tax mentioned as Rs. 2.15 is a question.

3.After Rollback:

Ahmedabad RMS (16.05.2012), Charged Rs. 12.00

As per roll back to Rs. 12 from Rs. 13 for Local Speed Post tariff Rs. 12 have been charged. Service Tax charged is Rs. 1.32, thus the basic postage rate becomes Rs. 10.68.

Racecourse P.O. (21.05.2012), Charged Rs. 13.00

As per roll back to Rs. 12 from Rs. 13 for Local Speed Post tariff of Rs. 12 was supposed to be charged (as per first example) but here Rs. 13 has been charged. Service Tax charged is Rs. 2.15

Service Tax Charged Rs. 3.36. Basic postage rate Rs. 22.67, If Service Tax charged at 12.36% it should be Rs. 2.80. Thus the total becomes Rs. 25.47. That means Rs. 0.53 Charged extra as rounding off. How the Service Tax is mentioned as Rs. 3.36 is a question.

3.After Rollback:

Ahmedabad RMS (16.05.2012), Charged Rs. 25.00

Racecourse P.O. (21.05.2012), Charged Rs. 26.00

As per roll back to Rs. 25 from Rs. 26 for One India One Rate Speed Post tariff Rs. 25 have been charged. Service Tax charged is Rs. 2.75, thus the basic postage rate becomes Rs. 22.25

As per roll back to Rs. 25 from Rs. 26 for One India One Rate tariff of Rs. 25 was supposed to be charged (as per above example) but here Rs. 26 has been charged. Service Tax charged is Rs. 3.36.

It is to be noted that the Local Speed Post rate of Rs. 12/- and One India One Rate of Rs. 25/- are inclusive of Service tax. Official website of India Post has clearly mentioned this information which is as follows:

Local Speed Post @ INR 12 ‘One India One Rate’ Speed Post @ INR 25

After increase in Service Tax rate w.e.f. 1st April 2012, the Business Development & Marketing Directorate of Department of Posts, vide their letter no. 57-10/2011-BD&MD dated 04.04.2012 issued instructions to implement the revised Service Tax rates wherever it is applicable in respect of Premium Products of India Post and to take immediate action for change of the rate of Service Tax in the software.

As per this guideline most of the post offices updated their software resulting increase in Local Speed Post rate from Rs. 12/- to Rs. 13/- and One India One Rate from Rs. 25/- to Rs. 26/- without keeping in mind that local and ‘One India One Rate’ tariff declared by India Post are flat rates which are inclusive of Service Tax.

Later as per another letter no. 57-10/2011-BD&MD dated 10.05.2012 issued by Business Development & Marketing Directorate of Department of Posts, a clarification was issued that the Tariff for local and One India One Rate are notified rates which are inclusive of Service Tax. This implies that the tariff in respect of local and one India one rate articles would remain unchanged and would be charged at Rs. 12 & Rs. 25 respectively. The Speed Post rates and service tax would be apportioned in these rates afresh as mentioned below:

Weight upto 50 grams

Local

Upto 200 kms.

201 to 1000 kms

1001 to 2000 kms

Above 2000 kms

Postage

10.68

22.25

22.25

22.25

22.25

Service Tax

1.32

2.75

2.75

2.75

2.75

Total

12.00

25.00

25.00

25.00

25.00

While checking on website of Postal Training Center, Mysore, it was revealed that a special guideline was issued on 9th May 2012 for charging Service Tax for Local & One India One Rate Speed Post articles.

The guideline on the website mentions that in order to keep the Local Speed Post rate for the weight slab of 1-50 Grams as Rs.12/- the speed post rate should be fixed as Rs.10.67 as basic postage plus 12.36% Service Tax which is comes to Rs. 1.32 (Rs. 0.01 would be rounding off value) which makes total of Rs. 12 as Local Speed Post rate. Similarly to keep One India One Rate for the weight slab of 1-50 Grams as Rs. 25/- the basic postage rate should be fixed as Rs. 22.24 plus 12.36% Service Tax which comes to Rs. 2.75 @ 12.36% (Rs. 0.01 would be rounding off value) which makes total of Rs. 25 as One India One rate.

Earlier when the Service Tax was 10.30% the basic postage rate for Local Speed Post was Rs. 10.88 and the Service Tax @ 10.30% was Rs. 1.12. Similarly for One India One Rate the basic postage rate was Rs. 22.67 and the Service Tax @ 10.30% was Rs. 2.33. Thus to keep the existing tariff of Local and One India One Rate for Speed Post articles after the increase of Service Tax, India Post has reduced the basic postage rate of these two classes.

Even after notifications and guidelines issued by India Post and Postal Training Center, Mysore many post offices continued to charge Rs. 13/- and Rs. 26/- for Local Speed Post and One India One Rate Speed Post articles. Examples of Racecourse P.O. dated 21.05.2012 are live examples. And opposite to that many post offices did not updated their software with new service tax rate and kept on charging 10.30% Service Tax. Here is the example of Tajnapeth Post office in Akola who charged 10.30% Service Tax.

Tajnapeth (08.05.2012), Stamps Affixed Rs. 35.00 (More than 50 gms.) Service Tax Charged Rs. 3.09 (@ 10.30%). Basic postage rate is Rs. 30.00 and as per 12.36% Service Tax it should be 3.70

Other two recent examples are from Shamshi P.O. (Himachal Pradesh) dated 21.05.2012 and 05.06.2012. Total Postage is charged as Rs. 25 but in both cases Service Tax is charged as 2.33 i.e. 10.30% Service Tax is charged on the basic postage rate of Rs. 22.67. That means till 05.06.2012 Shamshi P. O. was charging 10.30% Service Tax.

Shamshi P.O. 10.30% Service Tax Charged on 21.05.2012

Shamshi P.O. 10.30% Service Tax Charged on 05.06.2012

One more interesting point noted is the rounding off pattern used by India Post. In all financial transactions rounding off to rupee is done on lower side if paisa value is below 50 paisa and rounded off to next rupee if the paisa value is above 50 paisa. e.g. if the value is Rs. 12.22 or even 12.49, normally it is rounded off to Rs. 12.00 and if the value is Rs. 12.51 or above it is rounded off to Rs. 13.00. While in case of India Post even the value is Rs. 12.22 they round it off to Rs. 13.00. Here is an example of Speed Post article booked from Vadodara to Patna on 06.06.2012. Speed Post charge for the slab of 51 to 200 gms for 1001 to 2000 km is Rs. 50. On Rs. 50 Service Tax at 12.36 % becomes Rs. 6.18 thus total rate becomes Rs. 56.18. Here the service tax is shown as Rs. 7.00 and total Rs. 57 has been charged. Another example is from Shamshi P.O. dated 03.05.2012. On the rate of Rs. 30, 10.30% Service Tax is charged which comes to Rs. 3.09 but in receipt Service Tax is mentioned as Rs. 4.00.

Rs. 50 Postage + Rs. 6.18 S. Tax = 56.18

Rs. 30 Postage + Rs. 3.09 S.Tax = Rs. 33.09

Conclusion: Mr. Ashok Kumar Bayanwala has rightly said that “Be alert and keep your eyes open”. I found above discrepancies in Speed Post rates and Service Tax charged. Dig the well and you will also find more interesting things about lapses of India Post.

I always try to keep an eye on working of Postal Department. When I went to Speed Post Center to book a Speed Post article on 18th April 2012, I came to know that in Ahmedabad that “One India One Rate” for Speed Post article has been increased from Rs. 25/- to Rs. 26/- and local Speed Post rate has been increased to Rs. 13/- from Rs. 12/-, because Service Tax has been increased to 12.36% from 10.30% on and from 1st April 2012. On inquiry I came to know that Vadodara and Nadiad had also increased the Speed Post rate to Rs. 26/- and Rs. 13/- respectively.

On 16th May 2012, I got another shock when the officer-in-duty in Speed Post Center at Ahmedabad told me that the increased rate on Local Speed Post and “One India One Rate” has been rolled back on and from 14th May 2012.

In the mean time I came to know from my friends that Mumbai, Kanpur, Coimbatore and Jabalpur have also increased the rates. But Kolkata, New Delhi, Akola, Dhanbad, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon has not increased the Speed Post Charges for the above referred classes.

The Director Philately, New Delhi under RTI application wrote vide letter no. 26-02/2012-BD&MD dated 07.06.2012 that local Speed Post Charges and “One India One Rate” charges never increased. They are still Rs. 12/- and Rs. 25/- respectively.

Now the question arises- how India Post has charged more from certain post offices? And if the tariff is never increased, is India Post going to return the excess money charged by them?

This is an interesting history and readers of this article start digging their Speed Post mail. I am sure they can add new names of Post Offices who have charged Rs. 13/- for Local Speed Post and Rs. 26/- for “One India One Rate.”

While studying the above excess charging I found that on 8.5.2012, Tajnapeth P.O. of Akola has charged Service Tax of Rs. 3.09 on Rs. 35/- Speed Post Charges. This comes to 10.30% when Service Tax is 12.36%.

Another anomaly which I found is Ahmedabad RMS is showing Tax of Rs. 1.32 on Rs. 12/- when Laskar H. O. is showing Rs. 1.15 as Service Tax on Rs. 12/-.

Conclusion of the above article is – Be alert and keep your eyes open, you may find interesting lapses of India Post.

The Department of Post / India Post has completed 70 years of active philatelic activities or service to philatelists in the year 2011. The first philatelic bureau was opened on 21st June 1941 at Bombay GPO to cater needs of philatelists.

Bombay Philatelic Bureau was the only bureau in India functioning alone for more than 7 years. On 15th August 1948, nine philatelic bureaux were opened in different state capitals of India, viz. Calcutta, Cuttack, Delhi, Lucknow, Madras, Nagpur, Patna, Shillong and Simla, vide Postal Notice no. 31, dated 6.8.1948.

It appears to me that no new philatelic bureau was inaugurated for next 6 years. The exact date of opening of other philatelic bureaux is difficult to find because such information is not available with philatelic bureaux and postal notices of such opening is elusive. I tried to find such dates in philatelic magazines of that time but recording is not accurate. India Stamp Journal reported on page 246 in November 1967 issue that 19 philatelic bureaux (name mentioned) were working at that time. It means that nine philatelic bureaux were, opened between 16th August 1948 and November 1967. The Philatelic Journal of India again reported in August 1970 issue that 23 different philatelic bureaux were operating but the names of the bureaux were not mentioned.

I also collected special covers of inauguration of philatelic bureaux, but sometimes they are misleading. For example the philatelic bureau of Jamshedpur was inaugurated on 11th August 1999, as per special cover but the list of philatelic bureaux of 1997, shows the name of Jamshedpur, thus we see that either special covers or the list give wrong information.

Philatelic Bureaux always fascinated me, and that is why, I regard them as temples of Modern Indian Philately. Whenever I visit a city, I always pay a visit to the local philatelic bureau. In my opinion philatelic bureaux are indispensable for true philatelists.

Some twenty years back, I started collecting information regarding opening dates of different philatelic bureaux, but could not succeed to my satisfaction. The result of my research with problems discussed above is as follows:

LIST OF PHILATELIC BUREAUX

Sr. No.

Date

Name of Post Office

Remarks

1.

21.06.1941

Bombay G.P.O. – 400001 (Mumbai)

Vide D.G.P. Circular No. 14 dated 21.06.1941.

2.

15.08.1948

Calcutta G.P.O. – 700001 (Kolkata)

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

3.

15.08.1948

Cuttack G.P.O. – 753001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

4.

15.08.1948

Lucknow – 226001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

5.

15.08.1948

Madras – 600002 (Chennai)

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

6.

15.08.1948

Nagpur-440001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

7.

15.08.1948

New Delhi-110001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

8.

15.08.1948

Patna-800001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

9.

15.08.1948

Shillong-793001

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

10.

15.08.1948

Simla-171001 (Shimla)

Vide Postal Notice No. 31 dated 06.08.1948.

11.

Before April 1957

Hyderabad-500001

Postal Guide of April 1957, records these philatelic bureaux on page no. 5 but those were not recorded in October 1954 Postal Guide.

12.

Before April 1957

Jaipur-302001

13.

Before April 1957

Karnool-518001

14.

In between 01.07.1960 and 06.05.1961

Allahabad-211001

Is not included in page no. 5 of Postal Guide of 30.06.1960, but reported on page 126 of June 1961 issue of Philatelic Journal of India.

15.

06.05.1961

Bangalore-560001

Reported on page 126 of June 1961 issue of Philatelic Journal of India.

16.

01.07.1961

Ahmedabad-380001

Reported on page 159 of August 1961 issue of Philatelic Journal of India.

Out of 68 philatelic bureaux, the opening dated for 17 is missing. If we, philatelists join our hands together and search for inaugural dates, I am sure, we will get them. My contact number is +919327030758. Please contact me if you have any more information.